Why Swansea Homeowners Choose Us for Woven Shades
Natural texture at the window warms a room in a way a smooth fabric cannot, and that is why so many of the woven wood shades in Swansea, MA that we make go into living rooms, porches and bedrooms that want a relaxed, coastal feel. Window Works measures each window in your home, helps you choose the weave and the liner, and our team installs the finished shade.
The town’s houses suit them well. The Ocean Grove and Gardners Neck cottages by Mount Hope Bay have bright rooms where a woven shade softens the glare without shutting out the day. The older farmhouses out in Hortonville have deep, traditional window frames that frame a woven shade nicely. The ranches on the Route 6 corridor have broad front windows where a run of matching shades looks clean and simple.
- Woven wood and bamboo shades, lined or unlined
- Each one measured at your house and installed by our team
- Weaves and liners to compare at the Swansea showroom
Our Woven Shades and What Goes With Them
Bamboo shades
Fine bamboo slats woven close together, with a light, even texture that suits a cottage or a sunroom.
Woven wood shades
Woods, reeds and grasses in a looser or tighter weave, from a soft filtered light to a more private room.
With side drapes
A woven shade behind drapery panels adds softness and colour, and we make both.
Roman shades
Want the same soft fold in a fabric? A Roman shade lifts in the same way.
Roller shades
For a smoother, slimmer look, a roller shade in a textured fabric rolls up almost out of sight.
Cellular shades
A room that loses heat in winter may be better served by a honeycomb shade that holds air.
Weave, Liner and Light: Choosing Woven Wood Shades in Swansea, MA
Choosing woven wood shades in Swansea, MA really comes down to two decisions, the weave and the liner, because together they decide what the light does when it comes through. Everything else, the colour, the way it lifts and how it is mounted, follows from those two. Here is how we work through them with you.
The weave
A woven shade is made from natural materials laid side by side and held together with thread. A tight weave lets through a gentle, filtered light and gives a fair amount of privacy by day. A looser weave lets in more light and more of the view, and throws a pattern of light and shadow across the floor that many owners love in a sunny room. The colour of the material matters too: pale bamboo keeps a room bright, while darker woods give a warmer, richer glow.
The liner
A liner is a layer of fabric sewn to the back of the shade. Without one, the shade filters light and shows its texture from both sides. With a privacy liner, the room is screened even when the lamps are on at night, which is the one thing an unlined woven shade cannot do: from the street, an unlined shade in a lit room shows shapes moving behind it. A room-darkening liner goes further for a bedroom. We will show you each liner against the weave you like, so you can see how much light each one stops.
Bay-facing rooms and strong afternoon sun
Rooms in the cottages that look over Mount Hope Bay get a lot of afternoon light, and glare from the water adds to it. A woven shade is a good fit here. Lowered, it takes the edge off the sun and still lets you see the shape of the view through the weave. For a room that needs more shade in the late afternoon, a tighter weave or a light liner cuts the glare further while keeping that warm, natural look.
Salt air is part of life near the bay, and natural materials need a little thought. Woven shades are at home in living rooms, bedrooms and porches. They are not the right choice for a steamy bathroom or a spot where they will get wet, and we will point you towards something else for those windows.
Short, wide windows close to the ceiling
Many of the older cottages have short, wide windows set high on the wall. A woven shade folds into a fairly deep stack when it is raised, so on a short window the stack can block a good share of the glass. The answer is usually to mount the shade above the frame, so that when it is up it sits on the wall rather than over the window. We check the space above each window when we measure, so the shade clears the view.
Farmhouses and ranches
The farmhouses inland in Hortonville often have handsome original trim. A woven shade mounted inside the frame keeps that trim on show, provided the frame is deep enough, and we measure the depth at every window because it changes from room to room in an older house. The ranches along Route 6 usually have a wide front window, and a long woven shade or two matching shades side by side both work, depending on the frame and how you want to lift it.
Ready to Get Started? Book Your Free Quote
Call the Swansea store for a free quote, or come and see the samples in person.
From First Call to Fitted Shade
You hear from us at every stage, from the first conversation until the last shade is up. A typical order runs like this.
- Call the store or fill in the form, mention which windows you are thinking about, and book a free quote.
- One of our specialists comes to the house and measures each window, noting the frame depth and the space above it for the stack.
- You look at weaves, colours and liners, using samples at home or the full display at the showroom.
- Your quote arrives with every window listed.
- The shades are made to the measurements taken in your home.
- Our team installs them and shows you how each one raises and lowers.
How the shade lifts and how it looks at the top
A woven shade can be made to fold up in soft, even pleats or to roll, depending on the style. We will talk about which suits the window and how easily it needs to reach, which matters for a shade over a kitchen counter or behind a bed. The top of the shade can carry a matching valance that hides the headrail, which gives a finished look on a window without drapes.
Picking a colour
Natural materials vary, and that is part of their appeal: no two slats are quite the same shade, so a woven shade has a gentle, uneven tone that a printed fabric does not. Pale bamboo and light grasses keep a small room airy and sit well with white trim. Mid browns pick up wood floors and furniture. Deep, dark woods suit a study or a den, where a richer, warmer light is welcome. Because the colour looks different with the sun behind it, we always suggest holding a sample up at the window itself. When we bring samples of woven wood shades to Swansea, MA homes, we hold each one against the glass, because the colour you pick in the window’s own light is often not the one you would have picked from a picture.
Mixing woven shades with the rest of the house
Most houses use more than one kind of window treatment. A woven shade in the living room, a cellular shade in a cold bedroom and drapes in the dining room can all sit happily in one house if the colours are chosen together. Woven shades pair especially well with side drapes, which add colour and softness and can be drawn at night for extra privacy. Our window treatments page shows the full range, and the guide to woven wood shades and light goes further into weaves and liners.
Sunrooms and Three-Season Porches
A sunroom with glass on three sides is one of the hardest rooms in a house to dress. The light changes all day, the room heats up fast in summer, and there are often a dozen or more windows to cover in one go.
Woven shades bring a relaxed, natural texture to a room like this, while roller shades give a crisp, smooth line. Either way, each window is measured on its own, so the whole run lines up evenly along the wall. We will help you decide which suits your sunroom, and whether a liner is worth adding on the windows that take the hardest sun.
Woven shades beyond Swansea
Our team measures and installs woven wood shades in 25 towns, from the SouthCoast of Massachusetts into the Rhode Island East Bay. Each town has a page of its own on its houses and windows, for example woven wood shades for Somerset. The towns are all listed lower on this page.
Caring for woven shades
Woven shades need very little. A soft brush or a vacuum with a brush attachment, run gently down the shade now and then, takes off the dust. Spot clean with care and keep them dry. Near the bay, a light dusting more often stops salt from building up in the weave. If a cord or a lift on a shade you already own stops working, we can often put it right.
What Sets Window Works Apart
Window Works opened in Swansea in 1988 and is now run by the founding family’s second generation. Over 37 years, we have dressed windows in homes across the SouthCoast and the East Bay.
- A team of experienced window treatment specialists
- We measure in your home and our own installers fit every shade
- We keep you informed until the job is done
- Warranties offered on what we sell
- A Swansea showroom where you can see and handle the weaves
Woven Wood Shades Questions
What is the difference between woven wood and bamboo shades?
Bamboo shades use fine bamboo slats. Woven wood shades can mix woods, reeds and grasses, often in a looser, more varied weave.
Do I need a liner?
Not always. An unlined shade filters light by day but shows shapes behind it at night when the lights are on. A privacy or room-darkening liner solves that.
Are woven shades a good choice near the bay?
They suit living rooms, bedrooms and porches near the water well. They are not the right choice for steamy bathrooms or anywhere they will get wet.
Will a woven shade block the view on a short window?
When raised it stacks fairly deep, so on short windows we usually mount it above the frame to keep the glass clear.
Can I see the weaves before I choose?
Yes. Compare them side by side in the Swansea showroom, or ask for samples when we come to measure.
How do I book a quote?
The quote is free. Use the call button or send the form, and tell us which windows you want to cover.
Book Your Free Quote
To book a free quote for woven wood shades in Swansea, MA, press the call button and ask about measuring in the home or installation at the same time, or send the form and we will get back to you. If you want to see the weaves and liners first, stop by the showroom; directions are on the contact page. Window Works has a 5.0 rating on Google.